The Italian who came from nowhere to win at Roland Garros believes she can land another major title

Francesca Schiavone, the Italian who proved anything was possible if you try
hard enough, has been putting in the overtime again at the Australian Open
and showed at the age of 30 that she is the marathon woman of tennis.

Memories of last summer’s Wimbledon marathon between John Isner and Nicolas
Mahut were stirred as Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova, the reigning French
Open champion and her immediate predecessor, battled out the longest women's
match in open era Grand Slam history.

This time the action was all encompassed in one afternoon and evening but when
Schiavone struck the final forehand volley to register a 6-4 1-6 16-14
victory, the match clock on Melbourne Park’s Hisense Arena read four hours
and 44 minutes.

Before it began, Kuznetsova had declared: “Francesca and I might be very good
friends but when it comes to fighting out this match, we will be like
animals.” Dramatic